Twenty-two silvery domes — every one of them made of wood! On the Karelian island of Kizhi, Peter Scott discovers the secrets of craftsmen who turned timber into churches straight out of a fairy tale. The crowning glory is the Church of the Transfiguration: its log structure was assembled without a single nail, and its domes are clad in thousands of wooden «scales».
Visitors can try their hand at traditional crafts, too. Peter picks up a hammer to forge a nail in the smithy, then has a go at making kalitki — traditional Karelian pastries. Which will prove trickier: working red-hot iron or shaping the dough just right?
